Locals infuse life into Bikramgarh Jheel
KOLKATA: If nature enthusiasts took it on themselves to clean
Santragachhi Jheel last year, this time they teamed up with locals to
remove tonnes of water hyacinth, garbage, rubbish and debris from
Bikramgarh Jheel, reviving the sprawling waterbody that was on the verge
of extinction. The clean-up drive, achieved after countering opposition
from a section of land sharks, has even encouraged the government to
chart out a spruce-up plan to maintain the waterbody and foil any
further encroachment bids.
"We moved into the locality last year and never realized there was such a beautiful waterbody next door. It is only when a few men got into the act around six months ago and removed the hyacinth that sparkling water emerged," said Anyesha Dutta, a college student who resides in the locality.
"We moved into the locality last year and never realized there was such a beautiful waterbody next door. It is only when a few men got into the act around six months ago and removed the hyacinth that sparkling water emerged," said Anyesha Dutta, a college student who resides in the locality.
Over the past couple of decades, land sharks have unabashedly
encroached on the lake and grabbed nearly half of it, reducing it from
over 14 acre in the mid-70s to less than 8 acre now. Even when social
workers Arjan Basu Roy and Mudar Patherya teamed up to clean the lake in
two tranches, they encountered resistance and threats from toughs.
"The waterbody has shrunk over the years with land sharks using a crude method to claim parts of the lake. They first encroached on the bank and set up garages. That blocked off the lake's view, allowing them to dump garbage, rubbish and construction debris at night. Most of the buildings that have come up around the jheel are illegal. With 1 cottah fetching Rs 50 lakh, the incentive to grab the lake was high. Our clean-up drive obviously went against their interest and they tried several tricks to force us to abandon it," said Basu Roy, who runs NGO Nature Mates.
But with the duo standing firm and local youths, citizens from the neighbourhood as well as South City complex backing them, the clean-up effort got underway in right earnest. "The last time, we had cleaned 8-9 acre to the north of Gholam Mohammad Shah Road. Then, 25 men were employed to clean the hyacinth. This time, we employed a dozen men and had to use a backhoe pay-loader to clear the debris from the waterbody," said Patherya.
While road construction company Quippo helped by providing the earthmoving equipment free of cost, South City residents contributed over Rs 1 lakh. Twenty-five youths from the local Bikramgarh Boys' Club also pitched in. "Once they took the initiative, there was help galore. Unless locals take interest and maintain the lake, it will again decay," conceded resident Dipak Bhattacharya, who is part of Bikramgarh Jheel Banchao Committee.
To sustain the jheel's pristine nature, Patherya suggests that it be put into use. He proposed that boating be introduced by the local club and even agreed to fund two paddleboats.
Basu Roy and Bhattacharya are now banking on chief minister Mamata Banerjee. They had heard that the CM's office had responded to the initial clean-up drive by proposing an improvement project worth Rs 1 crore. "The proposal is to demarcate the jheel with logs along the banks, create a walkway all around and beautify the banks with shrubs, flowering plants and garden lights," said Borough 10 chairman Tapan Dasgupta.
"The waterbody has shrunk over the years with land sharks using a crude method to claim parts of the lake. They first encroached on the bank and set up garages. That blocked off the lake's view, allowing them to dump garbage, rubbish and construction debris at night. Most of the buildings that have come up around the jheel are illegal. With 1 cottah fetching Rs 50 lakh, the incentive to grab the lake was high. Our clean-up drive obviously went against their interest and they tried several tricks to force us to abandon it," said Basu Roy, who runs NGO Nature Mates.
But with the duo standing firm and local youths, citizens from the neighbourhood as well as South City complex backing them, the clean-up effort got underway in right earnest. "The last time, we had cleaned 8-9 acre to the north of Gholam Mohammad Shah Road. Then, 25 men were employed to clean the hyacinth. This time, we employed a dozen men and had to use a backhoe pay-loader to clear the debris from the waterbody," said Patherya.
While road construction company Quippo helped by providing the earthmoving equipment free of cost, South City residents contributed over Rs 1 lakh. Twenty-five youths from the local Bikramgarh Boys' Club also pitched in. "Once they took the initiative, there was help galore. Unless locals take interest and maintain the lake, it will again decay," conceded resident Dipak Bhattacharya, who is part of Bikramgarh Jheel Banchao Committee.
To sustain the jheel's pristine nature, Patherya suggests that it be put into use. He proposed that boating be introduced by the local club and even agreed to fund two paddleboats.
Basu Roy and Bhattacharya are now banking on chief minister Mamata Banerjee. They had heard that the CM's office had responded to the initial clean-up drive by proposing an improvement project worth Rs 1 crore. "The proposal is to demarcate the jheel with logs along the banks, create a walkway all around and beautify the banks with shrubs, flowering plants and garden lights," said Borough 10 chairman Tapan Dasgupta.
No comments:
Post a Comment